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E² INC.'s OFFICE SPACE
E² Inc. moved its offices in February 2006 to a building
formerly used as a textile mill in Charlottesville’s downtown
area between Monticello Avenue, Elliot Avenue, and Sixth Street. The
‘Ix building,’ as it is known locally, was the largest mill
of the Frank IX & Sons textile company from 1929 to 1999. A local
developer is converting the building for use as office space, shops,
and residences. E² Inc.’s offices occupy 6,000 square feet
of the 325,000-square-foot space.
IX PX: E² Inc. office space under construction
August 8, 2005 (left) and December 2, 2005 (right).
David Slutzky, president of E² Inc., says the
move is in keeping with the firm’s philosophy and vision for the
future. E² Inc. designed its new office space with an eye toward
employee comfort and it incorporated ecologically preferable materials
where practicable. The company used cork and natural linoleum as floor
coverings and is using paint with reduced volatile organic chemicals
(VOCs) on the walls. The firm organized its offices around a private
courtyard surrounded by windows to bring in natural light. E² Inc.
has also installed Sunpipes to channel natural daylight into interior
rooms and potentially conserve electricity.
Hx of Ix
Frank Ix, a German immigrant, founded Frank Ix & Sons in 1919 in
Union City, New Jersey. Construction of the Charlottesville Frank Ix
building, located between Monticello Avenue, Elliot Avenue, and Sixth
Street, began in 1925 and the textile company opened in 1929. Frank
IX & Sons, known locally as the “silk mill” was Charlottesville’s
largest employers through the 1970s. Ix employed about 1,400 workers
at its height. Frank Ix & Sons produced fabric for sailing equipment,
backpacks, dresses, and bathing suits, as well as manufacturing parachutes
for World War II bombs. The parachutes slowed the descent of dropped
bombs so that planes could get away safely. After WWII, Ix began manufacturing
synthetics, especially “gray yarn” which was unfinished
material that was shipped elsewhere. The 17-acre Charlottesville plant
was the largest of the company’s six mills, and the last to shut
down, after filing for Chapter 11, in October 1999, due to cheap labor
found overseas, which hindered competitiveness.
IX PX: Frank Ix Building 1928
A local development group bought the nearly 325,000-swuare-foot
Ix building in December 2000 and is transforming the area into a mixed-use
renovation. Today, the Frank Ix building houses CK Courier, Stafford
Insulation, Telephone Services, AIDS Service Group, gyms, non-profits,
and TV studios for ABC, CBS, and Fox, among others. The next phase of
IX will include residential, retail, and artisan spaces. Ten acres of
the Ix site is outside and will be landscaped, waterscaped , and artscaped
(with sculptures and stonework). There are also plans for an amphitheater
and outdoor café.
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